This invention relates to a neutron detector formed from diamond.
It has been proposed to create a neutron detector which comprises a diamond crystal, a surface layer of which is doped with .sup.10 B or another neutron-sensitive material. Such a device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,078 to Koslov. However, the device described in this patent specification is relatively complex, and only a relatively small portion of the diamond crystal is actually sensitive to neutron radiation. It has also been proposed to utilise a diamond sheet implanted with boron ions for detecting neutrons. A device of this kind is described in an article by A E Luchanskii et al in Atomnaya Energiya, Vol 63, No. 2, pp 132-133, August, 1987. It has also been proposed by R J Keddy, T L Nam and R C Burns (Carbon, Vol 26, No. 3, pp 345-356, 1988) and by R J Keddy (Advances in Ultra-hard Materials Applications Technology, 1988, De Beers Industrial Diamond Division (Proprietary) Limited) to use diamond crystals as neutron detectors.
Efforts continue to be made to increase the sensitivity of detectors to neutron radiation and to reduce their sensitivity to other radiation, particularly .gamma. radiation.